Happy Tail: Six is a pup's lucky number

After the death of her dog of 17 years, Debbi Keillor of Greenville, IL, wasn’t sure she ever wanted to experience such heartbreak again. But after months without the patter of paws in the house, she realized she wanted another dog. She began searching on Petfinder and decided she would put a limit on how far she would travel to adopt one: six hours.

Tazzy Roo gained a home and filled an empty spot in her adopter’s heart.

And then she saw the perfect dog — Tazzy. “In the photo she looked shy and overwhelmed,” Debbi says. “The look in her eyes hit a spot in my heart — it melted.”

It seemed fated because Tazzy was right at the edge of the travel limit Debbi had set — six hours away at the Humane Society of Lincoln County in Fayetteville, TN.

She contacted the shelter and learned that the pup was still available, so she and a friend set out on a road trip – “most of it in the rain and [we] even ended up in a minor fender bender in rush-hour traffic,” she says. “The hardest part about the trip was driving right past the shelter, which was closed for the day, when I entered Fayetteville. I wanted to go meet my girl!”

The hardships of the trip were forgotten the next day when a shelter worker put the pup in her arms. “Tazzy placed her face nose-to-nose with me and closed her eyes,” Debbi says. “I fell in love.”

The dog was quiet on the trip home, but once out of the car she started running and jumping, so Debbi gave her a middle name, “Roo.” She seemed to know this was home.

People often ask Debbi where she got Tazzy Roo and are surprised she came from a shelter. Debbi is thankful for the blessings that brought Tazzy to her, including Petfinder. For without it, she says, she would never have found her beloved dog in a shelter six hours away.